Waterlily is trotting though the fields with the wind in his hair. On beautiful days like this, he loves galloping as fast as he can. The rush of air and adrenaline fill him with happy thoughts. waterlily can sense water near by and heads in that direction hoping to quench the enormous thirst his morning parade afforded him. As he approaches the creek, a flash of brilliant blue light engulfs his body and he transforms into a human. *One much more enjoys drinking water than licking it* he thought to himself.

One of his favorite pastimes as a human is eating and drinking. The sensations and combination's are infinite and pleasing to him. But water replenishes him like no other drink can. It is his lifeblood. It is what sustains him. Without it, he would become weak and could possibly die if he goes without it for a long time. Luckily for him the Foothills contain many sources of water. One of the reasons he chose to live here.

As his thirst is quenched and he rests his head at the roots of a nearby tree, he begins to feel a wash of sadness come over him. Dark clouds begin to fill the sky. With all that he has, he also has no one to share it with. Subtle raindrops begin to fall. His fear of death prevents him from loving another, for if he ever did he would surely die. The rain is steady but not heavy, as if a soft mist. As he closes his eyes, he begins to sing that sad ballad that so often crosses his lips.

His songs have the mysterious side affect of traveling long distances and attracting women and small children to him. Some of the more malevolent of his kind use this ability to lure unsuspecting souls to their watery deaths. Waterlily has a big heart and is more compassionate to all the creatures of the land, both human and magical. He cannot remember how he came to be, just that he always was, always is and always will be.

As waterlily is deep into the sadness of his song, he hears a rustling in the nearby bushes. In the blink of an eye and a flash of brilliant blue light he transforms into a Blue Finch. The clouds begin to dissipate and the rain ceases to fall. Under strong emotion his Shape-shifting ability reacts on its own. He flutters up to a overhanging branch and watches to see what is coming. As the bushes are pushed away, a small impoverished girl with dark hair and blue eyes peeks through and says, *Hello, is anyone there?*

Waterlily is reluctant to address the little girl, but senses that her heart is innocent and she does not wish him any harm. Waterlily replies, *Hello.* The girl is startled because she sees no one but hears an answer. *Where are you?**One is up here in this tree* he replied. The girl looks up and only sees a tiny Blue Finch. *Was that you singing that beautiful song?**One is quite surprised that this little girl does not seem at all shocked she is talking to a bird. One's interest has been peaked* he thinks to himself.

There was a snake sunning on a stone not too far from where the girl and bird were talking, watching things unfold with deaf curiosity. Rain or no rain, it was a particularly warm stone and rather refreshing, though the vibrations of the girl's footsteps had caused her to lift her head and watch the man shift into a bird.

Always fascinating, the different ways other species shift. Do they simply shimmer into another realm as they change shape as well? Can they move so easily between dimensions? It's hard not to assume that they share these abilities.

Stretching languidly, she watched the girl's lips as she spoke, reading the words and debating on rather she should approach or not. They were both strangers and she had rather enjoyed her warm stone.

It was impossible not to hear her bonded in the back of her mind, however, scolding her for being unsocial. She had to smile at that. With their bond they never left her entirely.

Watching may be best, for now. Some would have a less than pleased reaction towards my current form, in any case. Let us see what happens.

*One knows that most magical beings shy away from interactions with humans. Some cannot even be seen by them.*Waterlily replies, *Yes indeed, One was singing the song that your ears heard. How is it that you are not surprised to be talking with a finch?* The little girl proceeded to sit in the same spot that waterlily once occupied. *I can talk to many animals in the forest. But I have never seen a finch as blue as you. Nor one that sings such mesmerizing songs* the girl replied. *One must apologize for his songs because they will draw young children to me. One had hoped that the Foothills were far enough away from humans to not attract anyone. Where did you come from?**I do not know. The last thing I remember was walking in the forest, then I heard the most amazing singing and was drawn to follow it. Before that I remember nothing* the girl replied.

A peculiar series of events this is. Waterlily has never encountered a being such as her. Is she a human child? Does she posses some magic that allows her to talk with the animals of the forest? Where did she come from? The nearest human village is more than a days travel from here. *Little girl, would you mind if I flew down and perch on your knee?* The girl replied *Yes* and waterlily fluttered with a quickness down to the little girls knee and landed. As waterlily drew closer to the girl, he began to sense something about her. Something familiar, but in this form his magical senses are quite dull. He also cannot focus with a constant hunger for some nearby berries he spotted when the girl emerged from the bushes. Waterlily is not yet old enough to control the urges of the animals or creature that he shifts into. His magical abilities are also at their infancy. Better control will come with age.

*Little girl, do you remember your name or who your parents are?**I do not* she replied. *Do you remember your brothers or your sisters?* She replied yet again, *I do not. Sing me a song Mr. Finch. Sing me another beautiful song. It made my heart still and my pain dull.*Waterlily began to realize the situation at hand. Although he is young, he has seen many things in his journeys. His race has a unique connection to the dead. Even though waterlily is not like the rest of his kind, his innate links to that world are still there. *Little girl, in order for me to sing again I must change my form. Can you keep a secret?* The little girl smiled at him and nodded her head. As waterlily began to fly up and away from the girls knee, he transformed into a human once again with the flash of a brilliant blue light. The little girl was excited and vowed to never reveal his secret.

Waterlily sat next to the girl and picked her up so that she can sit on his lap. *Are you ready?* he uttered. *Yes, Yes I am.**Now close your eyes and listen with your heart.* The little girl closed her eyes and waterlily began to sing a lullaby that he remembers from long ago. As he sang a tear began to run down his cheek, because he knew who the little girl was or at least what she was. The little girl must have heard his song right before she died. Somehow she was bound to the song magically and her spirit could not rest because she had to follow the song to him. As the song comes to an end, the little girl utters *Thank You* and then she fades into the abyss. Where they go, waterlily does not know, but he is happy she is at peace. Happiness followed by sadness seems to be a recurring theme in his life. As the sadness of the girls death fills his heart he once again begins to sing that sad song that he knows all too well. As he sings, the sky once again darkens and rain begins to fall. This time the rain is exceptionally cold and it is as if day were turned to night.

So he was aware of the beings that came from the realm of spirits? And he wove magic in his music, without meaning to it seemed. The music and magic seemed to pull at him, more than he chose to sing, something that made the little snake tilt her head curiously.

He seemed such a melancholy fellow. Another shifter, and new to these lands...Well, she was timid when she first arrived as well.

Songhue flicked her tongue, tasting the air as she made up her mind. Shimmering insubstantially for a moment, she wavered, glimmered, and reappeared with a few, quiet looking blue-grey sparks.

She flicked her wings as she settled into her fae form once again, pausing as her reflection caught her in the nearby stream. She had to tuck a hair back in surprise - she had grown quite a bit since she first found these lands. She knew her ceremonial marker of becoming a woman had been close, when she first came here, but not how close. Though she supposed she wouldn't have found her mate if this hadn't been the case; she no longer looked a woman-child. She was taller, her curves slightly more prominent, and most importantly she no longer held a young face. Her cheeks were higher, more well defined, her hair worn differently, her mouth fuller. Her freckles, so long curving atop her cheeks, were completely gone.

Enough time has passed now for me to have outlived a star. Many have been seen in my journeys, and many more will be born in the sky of my realm and die before time touches me again.

Lifting her gaze, Songhue twitched her wings and stepped forward to greet the stranger, making a mental note to meditate before she rested. This wasn't the time for self reflection; that would come later, as a luxury.

Waterlily is deep into his song and all the emotions that surround it. To him children are a precious, innocent gift. For one to be taken so early, it saddens his heart. Why does he weep so for humans? Most of his kind hate humans. Most magical creatures in general would rather not even care about humans at all. Where does this empathy come from? As waterlily finishes his sad song, the sky begins to clear and the rain ceases. As he stands up to go for a walk, he senses the presence of another magical creature.

As he turns around he sees a beautiful young creature floating towards him. With the sun in his eyes, she appears to be an Angel. He smiles for a second because he knows that Angels do not exist or at least he has never met one. As she draws closer, waterlily can see her fluttering blue wings and her creamy white skin. *A fairy* he thinks to himself. *One thinks she must be a fairy.* He cannot remember the last time he saw one, but of the ones he has seen, they have all been child-like and small. Never has he seen one so... grown-up.

Time seems to almost stand still as she draws even closer. Waterlily began to feel something. And in a brilliant flash of blue light he transforms into a Blue Fox with two tails. As the fairy stands before him, waterlily apologizes for his sudden shift. *One finds that certain strong emotions cause me to shift uncontrollably; in this case Anticipation was the culprit. One apologizes Miss, where are my manners? My name is waterlily and I am a friend to all creatures in this forest. I mean you no harm. May I ask what your name is? And may I say that One is truly in awe of your beauty?*